Camp Sarika, Where Social Distancing Comes Naturally.

Deep in the Utah desert, an otherworldly lodge sets a new standard for serenity. Travis Levius checks in at Camp Sarika, where social distancing comes naturally.

- Travis Levius

I EXPECTED THE more obvious elements of desert life—the dry heat, the dust—but not the silence. As I scanned the landscape of tanned mesas and buttes from my private deck, it felt to me as if a pair of invisible hands was cupping my ears. The stillness of this sunbaked slice of southern Utah was like nothing I’d ever experienced. The quiet was broken only by the cry of a bird of prey, somewhere out there.

I had found exactly what I was looking for: a pandemic-era getaway that would bring me close to nature and as far from other humans as possible.

There are plenty of high-end American escapes that achieve a similar out-in-the-wilderness effect—Colorado’s Dunton Hot Springs (duntondestinations.com) and Montana’s Resort at Paws Up (pawsup.com) come to mind— but few are as unabashedly luxurious as the recently opened Camp Sarika, the newest resort from Aman hotels.

This is the luxury group’s second effort in the Utah desert. Camp Sarika is the sister property of the 34-suite Amangiri, one of the most strikingly designed—and expensive—resorts on the planet. Amangiri’s Brutalist-style, low-rise design, juxtaposed with the stark landscape that rises up around it, has lured A-list celebrities and other jet-setters since 2009 (Kylie Jenner and the Biebers are among the recent visitors). The hotel is perhaps best known for its Instagram-famous swimming pool, where ice-blue water wraps around a 165 million-year-old rock escarpment— a sight that resembles Horseshoe Bend, the photogenic oxbow in the Colorado River that’s half an hour from the resort.